SOFTBALL: Mercersburg Academy names Doonie Brewer new softball coach

MERCERSBURG >> Diana "Doonie" Brewer, a new member of the Mercersburg Academy faculty who has 23 years of coaching experience, has been named the Blue Storm's head softball coach.

Brewer succeeds John David Bennett, who led the Blue Storm to the 2012 Pa. Independent Schools Athletic Association state championship, four Independent Parochial School League titles and a 61-49 overall record in six years as year coach. Bennett will now serve as the coach of Mercersburg's JV girls soccer and JV boys basketball teams.

"Doonie is a well-respected coach with boundless enthusiasm and energy, which are traits that our players will find contagious," Mercersburg athletic director Rick Hendrickson said in a press release. "I want to thank coach Bennett for guiding our program forward. He will be tough act to follow, but coach Brewer will be a great fit here."

Brewer, who will also coach JV field hockey, spent the last eight years as Holderness School in New Hampshire, where she was the chair of the English department as well as the softball and field hockey coach. She has also been a head coach at Wilbraham & Monson Academy (Mass.) and St. George's School (R.I.).

"I'm excited to get onto the fields at Mercersburg," Brewer said. "I hope to build on the best elements of coach Bennett's program and to create a team and an atmosphere where players are comfortable trying new things."